By Tony O’Riley-
Police Minister, Kit Malthouse, today said that people have a “duty” to make this lockdown “the last one”.
His comments came as it was announced that lockdown rule-breakers are more likely to be fined as Covid laws will be enforced “more quickly”, the UK’s most senior police officer has said.
Malthouse’s comments came after commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said her officers have had to break up parties, despite London hospitals struggling to cope with rising patient numbers.
“We are urging the small minority of people who aren’t taking this seriously to do so now, and [are illustrating] to them that if they don’t they are much more likely to get fined by the police,” Mr Malthouse, the policing minister, told BBC Breakfast.
“These current measures should in theory, if we all stick by them, be enough to drive the numbers down so that we can start to move through the gears of tiers from mid-February,” he added.
In response to questions about the prospects of tighter restrictions, Mr Malthouse said ministers were “on tenterhooks” watching the daily figures for Covid deaths, new cases and hospital admissions, as rules continue to be kept under review.
Ongoing research conducted by this publication about the British public’s reaction to Covid-19 and national lockdowns, reveals that many londoners are resigned to the idea that there will be many more lockdowns. People who hold this view perceive lockdowns as a new way for controlling people, and remain sceptical about the credibility of Covid-19 Covid-19 death rates.
The majority of londoners spoken to appear to be be abiding by lockdown rules, but a sizeable number have adopted a sceptical view to restrictions. Most of those sceptical are young people between the ages of 16 and 30.Many cite the fact prime minister Boris Johnson had initially indicated months before December that he would try to avoid a Christmas lockdown, but later changed his mind after being influenced by scientists about the spread of the virus.
Many believe the new strain of the virus was used as a smokescreen to establish a third lockdown in January. A few days after speaking to one teenager, he referred to an article published on this cite stating the January lockdown was known in advance. However , it was pointed out that the article did not suggest that the new strain was a smokescreen, but was simply making the point that a lockdown was already highly on the cards for January.
Image: ministers.parliament.uk